Hong Kong courts had failed to punish violent protests, which helped to create “mayhem” in the city, according to former Hong Kong judge Henry Litton.

He also believed that the courts’ ruling in the anti-mask law case last year showed “total insensitivity” to the policy of “one country, two systems.”

Litton, a former Court of Final Appeal judge, wrote an opinion piece in the South China Morning Post and the Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao on Thursday called “For Hong Kong’s sake, the judiciary must regain Beijing’s trust,” where he accused the courts of having “subordinated the common good to the assertions of personal right” in many cases.

“This gives a sense of personal sovereignty to those who have taken to the streets in violent protest. Laws which protect the majority can be trashed with impunity because personal agendas are supreme,” he said. “The courts have, in effect, helped to create the social environment leading to the mayhem wrought on the streets over the past year.”

Mass protests, which sometimes turned violent after police intervention, had rocked the city since June last year. Originally against the now-withdrawn extradition bill, the protests have evolved into calling for democracy in Hong Kong.

Litton, 86, also slammed two High Court judges for their ruling in November last year over the anti-mask law enacted using the emergency law.

“They roundly declared that the Emergency Regulations Ordinance was incompatible with the new ‘constitutional order’ established after June 1997 for Hong Kong. This shows total insensitivity to the policy of ‘one country, two systems,’” Litton said.

“The judges, in effect, elevated themselves to be on a par with the National People’s Congress, deciding what the constitutional order for Hong Kong should be, thus empowering themselves to strike down an essential piece of primary legislation. No wonder the judgment evoked an immediate negative response from the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.”

Litton said that the path forward for the courts was perhaps set by a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2014.

“We have a big stage to display our advantages on [and] a long and rich history to draw benefit from...We should modestly learn from the best of other civilizations, but never forget our own origin. We must not blindly copy the development models of other countries, nor accept their dictation,” he quoted Xi as saying.

Civic Party chair Alan Leong, a senior counsel, was angered by Litton’s remarks.

“He blamed the courts for mayhem on the streets, but Carrie Lam, who pushed the extradition bill and helped enact the national security law, has no responsibility? Is he out of his mind?” Leong said.

Leong said Litton’s articles were akin to recent remarks made by the chief executive and Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung, who both damaged Hong Kong’s rule of law by saying that the city does not have separation of powers. Litton’s praise for Xi was also “shoe shining to the extreme,” Leong added.

Civic Party legal sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok said Litton’s criticism of Hong Kong courts and lawyers were utterly disrespectful to them by twisting the facts. “It is very disappointing that Litton, a senior judge, would make such remarks.”

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